Arc V Drabbles
by IceePheonix
Summary: A collection of dabbles and one shots, all a bit short to be their own stories, all set within the Arc V universe, though not necessarily connected to one another. Come contain shipping(Jubilantshipping, Candyshipping for the most part). Cross-posting from my tumblr.
1. Mind Control

Mind Control

Based off of/inspired by this comic by whitelily.

post/134809872864/i-dont-know-how-likely-this-actually-is-but-boy

Characters- Yuya Sakaki, Sora Shiunin

Tags- Drama

* * *

Something about Yuya's duel had been, off. No, not the duel, it was Yuya that seemed off, the way he smiled, the way he spoke, the way he didn't even acknowledge Crow as he was dragged off to the Underground following his defeat. Something bout it all just felt wrong.

Sora knew he should have been glad to see Yuya as he rode around the arena, to see that he was alright, so why did he get a sinking feeling in his gut every time he looked at him. What had happened to him in the hours he was missing after he'd been caught by Security?

There were only a handful of times that Sora Shiunin could say he'd felt true fear, and standing before what he could only call the empty husk that was his best friend was one of those times.

He'd sought Yuya out after his duel, catching him before he left, in the hopes that he was imagining things, that this was all some kind of act on his part.

"Well Sora?" His voice was chilling, almost emotionless yet dripping with a mocking playfulness. Everything about him was wrong, his voice, his posture, the look in his eyes as he stared the Fusion duelist down. This wasn't Yuya, it couldn't be, this wasn't the same boy who'd allowed himself to be captured by Security so Sora could escape. This was just a poor copy that looked and sounded like him.

Sora took a hesitant step back, a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. Perhaps coming after Yuya had been a bad idea after all.

"We never did get to finish our duel in Standard, why don't we pickup where we left off?" His lips curled up into something so unbefitting and unlike Yuya it made Sora's stomach knot. He knew Yuya's smile, it was warm and inviting, full of laughter and life and made you feel wanted and like you belonged. This, this was none of those, it was as cold and unfeeling as his voice, a twisted smirk.

' _Yuya,_ ' he dropped his gaze, unable to face his friend. ' _I don't know what they've done to you to make you like this, but I don't care._ ' The duel disk on his arm beeped to life as the sword shaped disk flared out. Fear turned to conviction as he faced Yuya, clenching his jaw as he forced back anger at whomever had done this to his friend.

"I don't care what it takes, I'll bring back your real smile, just like you did for me!"


	2. Sacrifice

Characters- Sora Shiunin, Kurosaki Shun, Selena, Reira Akaba

Tags- Drama

Other- Written shortly before episode 92 came out. Inspired by an anon who brought up 'what if Sora got carded by saving Shun from OF' in a conversation.

Set around/after Yuya's duel with Barrett, Selena and Reira escape from OF during the chaos and Sora goes looking for Selena and Reira to keep them safe, as per his promise to Yuya.

* * *

The orders for the Obelisk Force had changed, find and capture Hiragi Yuzu and Selena, kill anyone who got in the way. Among the chaos underground, Sora had lost track of Selena and Reira, the small boy having fled with her the moment she was able to move again.

He'd also lost track of the Obelisk Force that had been down there as well.

"Reira, Selena!" he called out as he leapt from roof top to roof top, pausing only a moment to look around. A flicker of movement in an alleyway caught his attention and he dropped to the ground below, weaving through the streets.

Rounding a corner he skidded to an abrupt stop, he'd found Reira and Selena alright, but he'd also found someone else.

"You."

Shun glared at him from the alley, an exhausted Reira hanging off his back, Selena holding onto the wall for support. Shun raised his arm, readying his duel disk for a fight.

"Tch, we don't have time for this," hissed Sora. "And I don't want to fight you either."

"I won't let you take them," he growled.

Sora rolled his eyes, "I don't want to take them, I want to save them. Obelisk Force will be on us soon, and this time they have orders to kill."

"And why should I trust you?"

"Because you don't have a choice."

They were half way into the sewer when the Obelisk Force rounded the corner on them. Sora cursed under his breath, this was bad. He looked at his disk, then over to Shun who was helping Reira down the hole carefully.

"Oi, Xyz scum, think you can keep them safe down there?" he asked.

Shun gave him a dirty look at the insult but nodded.

"Good, I'll join you once I deal with these guys." Sora indicated to the advancing force.

Shun dropped into the sewers after Selena and Reira, as much as he didn't like the idea of leaving Sora alone with his old allies, there wasn't much of a choice. He was about to start walking when he felt a tug on his sleeve and a small voice spoke up from beside him.

"Wh-where's Sora?" asked Reira timidly.

"Fighting so we can get out," he said, going to move again. To his surprise this only made Reira look even more scared.

"No, nonono, he can't fight. Y-you have to help him."

Shun scowled, "Of course he can fight, and he doesn't need my help."

"No, he can't," said Selena. "Earlier, when we were attacked, his disk was broken. He can't defend himself."

Sora rubbed his arm as he watched the Obelisk Force stop only a few feet away from him, their own disks raised. The only reason the Antique Gear Hound hadn't taken his entire hand off when it bit him was because of his duel disk, which took the brunt of the bite. It was useless now, but he hadn't been about to tell Shun that.

"Well, come and get me!" he dared, spitting aside the empty sucker stick and holding his arms out wide.

' _I hope this buys you enough time_ ,' he thought, watching as the blue stoned Obelisk Force member pressed a button on their disk and violet light filled his vision.


	3. Candyshipping

Characters-Sora Shiunin, Sakaki Yuya

Tags-Romance/Fluff

Other- Candyshipping (Yuya/Sora)

* * *

Having grown up being taught that emotions like empathy and compassion are weakness, Sora is at a loss for what to do the first time he sees Yuya down in the dumps about something. This is not a situation he's prepared to handle damn it, even though every fibre of his being is screaming at him to do something and make him smile again. Frowns are very unbefitting for Yuya after all.

The next thing Yuya knows there's a cherry red sucker being thrust in his face, and Sora looks very relieved when Yuya accepts it with a grateful smile.

After that it would become his go-to method to cheer Yuya up, because it's really hard to remain gloomy looking when one has a sucker.


	4. Fallen Soldier

Characters- Sora Shiunin, Hiragi Yuzu

Tags-Sad/Drama

Other: Written shortly before episode 89 came out. There is also an alternate ending, which is even sadder.

* * *

"Traitors will be dealt with accordingly." The monotone voice of the Obelisk Force droned in Sora's ears as he lay on the ground, panting heavily as he tried to pull himself up. Everything hurt and moving only made it worse.

' _Damnnit, this wasn't supposed to happen._ ' He hissed in pain as he held himself up by his arms. There was still time, he could teleport away to another dimension and prevent his inevitable fate. As soon as the thought entered his mind he silently berated himself, how could he do that, he had friends here, friends he had to protect. That was what had gotten him into this mess, he'd hoped to delay the Obelisk Force in finding Yuzu and Selena, but they'd gotten stronger since they last time he'd seen them and the duel had quickly turned one sided, and not in his favour.

' _Yuzu, I'm sorry,_ ' he thought, closing his eyes as a brilliant violet light overtook him.

Yuzu panted as she ran in the direction of the monster she'd just seen shattered to pieces, Mad Chimera. ' _That's Sora's monster, I hope he's not in trouble,_ ' she thought, rounding the corner quickly.

"Sor-ahh!" She trailed off into a horrified scream, hands flying to her mouth at the scene of destruction that lay before her, and in the center of it were two things, a shattered sucker and a single card.


	5. Fallen Soldier-alt ending

Characters- Sora Shiunin, Hiragi Yuzu

Tags-Sad/Drama

Other-Implied Musicboxshipping(Sora/Yuzu). The alternate ending.

* * *

"Traitors will be dealt with accordingly." The monotone voice of the Obelisk Force droned in Sora's ears as he lay on the ground, panting heavily as he tried to pull himself up. Everything hurt and moving only made it worse.

' _Damnnit, this wasn't supposed to happen._ ' He hissed in pain as he held himself up by his arms. There was still time, he could teleport away to another dimension and prevent his inevitable fate. As soon as the thought entered his mind he silently berated himself, how could he do that, he had friends here, friends he had to protect. That was what had gotten him into this mess, he'd hoped to delay the Obelisk Force in finding Yuzu and Selena, but they'd gotten stronger since they last time he'd seen them and the duel had quickly turned one sided, and not in his favour.

' _Yuzu, I'm sorry,_ ' he thought, closing his eyes, waiting for the brilliant violet light to overtake him.

But it never came. The effect should have been near instantaneous, he'd seen it enough times to know, but after several moments nothing happened and Sora knew something was wrong. Slowly, he opened his and eyes and almost wished he hadn't.

"Yuzu!" His eyes widened in fear when he realized that she now stood between him and the Obelisk Force.

"I won't let you hurt him," she shouted, arms spread out to block their path.

"Yuzu, I'm not worth it get out of here!" He clenched his jaw as he struggled to his feet, he was pretty sure he'd broken something during the last attack that had thrown him into a wall.

Yuzu scowled, "You're my friend, I'm not going to abandon you here," she said. "That's not what friends do."

"Meddling girl," growled one of the Obelisk Force drones. "You shouldn't have interfered."

Sora saw him reach for the button on his disk and all time seemed to slow down, a wave of purple light steaming forth and hitting Yuzu.

"Yuzu!" Sora could only watch in horror as his friend, as the one person he wanted to protect morre than anything was engulfed in the light, and there was nothing he could do. Reaching a trembling hand out as the light vanished, he caught the falling card, tears burning in his eyes.

He ground his teeth together as he he held the card close, slowly pulling himself to his feet, despite the protesting aches in his legs.

"I will make you pay, for what you did to Yuzu," he snarled. "She was my friend."


	6. What if

Characters- Yuya Sakaki

Tags- General

Other- Just a fun 'what if' idea that came about after watching episode 92.

What if...Yuri and Yugo didn't get flung into another dimension, what if they were already gone by the time Yuzu had shown up? What if Yuzu's bracelet is simply repressing the effects of what happened to Yuya?

* * *

They were back in Standard when Yuya noticed them, two cards in his deck that shouldn't have been there. He was prepping his deck for an upcoming duel when they slipped out, white and purple standing out against the rest of his cards.

He picked them up hesitantly, breath hitching in his throat and a cold sweat forming along his brow as he looked closer. The names were unmistakable and unforgettable.

 _Clear Wing Synchro Dragon_

 _Starve Venom Fusion Dragon_


	7. Single sentence challenge

Characters- Sora, (mentioned)Yuya, Yuzu

Tags-Romance/Fluff

Other-Jubilantshipping(Sora/Yuya/Yuzu) A one sentence pairings prompt. I came up with two different ones.

* * *

Sora had never wanted in his life, but just this once he did, he wanted to see Yuya and Yuzu home safely to Standard, and he wanted to go with them.

–––

Sora wasn't sure if he'd ever truly been happy before, but as he sat between his two favourite people in the world, the popcorn bowl in his lap, he was pretty sure that he was, for once, truly happy.


	8. Torn Apart

Characters- Jack Atlas, Crow Hogan, Yusei Fudo(mentioned)

Tags-Drama, Tragedy

AN: A short time back I came up with two ideas as to where Yusei was within the Arc V Synchro universe, short of simply never existing(the second was that he was simply born a Top and stayed a Top). This is the one I chose to expand upon. Also, 'Red Tyrant Dragon' is the name I'm going with for the counterpart to Scar Red Nova that (for the purpose of this drabble) exists within the Synchro dimension.

* * *

"Jack! Jack, help me move this stuff, I saw Yusei crash over here." Crow panted as he grabbed a chunk of debris from the construction site and hefted it aside before running in the direction of the pillar of rising smoke, the crash site.

"Yusei, Yusei!" Jack called his friend's name frantically as rain poured down, soaking him to the bone and turning dirt to mud. The storm had risen out of nowhere, wind howling and raging as the rain came down in buckets. "Damnit, answer me Yusei!"

The only response was the pounding rain against the metal and stone around them and the crunch of glass underfoot.

"Jack…" Crow's voice cracked momentarily. "Jack! I found him, come help me move this stuff. We have to get him to a doctor!"

* * *

Jack pressed his fingers together silently as they waited, resting his chin against his hands.

It was just supposed to be a simple ride, to make sure their modifications and tune ups to their D-Wheels worked properly. Then the storm blew up and the roads slicked with rain. He closed his eyes, the sound of screeching tires and the crunching of meal and glass still ringing in his ears from when Yusei lost control.

When they found him he'd been pinned under his D-Wheel, or at least what remained of it as it had been reduced to a twisted wreck. His helmet was found several feet away, the visor shattered from the impact. Yusei was unconscious, bleeding out from a gash on his head and from a metal bar that had lodged itself in his side.

It had taken their combined efforts to drag him to the closest thing they had to a hospital in the Commons district, which was more than a few blocks away.

Jack lifted his gaze slightly to look at Crow, who sat across him. Yusei's blood still stained his hands, which were clasped tightly together, his forehead resting against them. All they could do now was wait.

The deathly silence was broken by the sound of an opening door as the doctor entered the room.

* * *

"It's all your fault!" Crow grabbed Jack by the collar, slamming him against the wall. Tears burned the corner of his eyes as he glared up at the taller man, hands shaking as he held Jack's shirt in his fists.

Jack grunted, grabbing Crow by the wrists and ripping his hands free. "Do not blame this on me."

"He wouldn't have been out there if you hadn't suggested we go out," snapped Crow, trying to pull his arms free of Jack's iron-like grip. "Yusei would…Yusei would…"

Jack sighed and released Crow's hands, pushing him away. Yusei hadn't made it, between blood loss, head trauma, and internal injuries, there had been nothing to be done for him, he was gone within minutes of brought there.

"It was an accident Crow, it couldn't be helped."

"You're the one who said we should go," snapped Crow, taking a step towards him again. "You're the one who took the lead out there."

"You said we could handle some rain, that it wouldn't be a problem!" Jack pushed Crow back into the table. "I said we should turn back, but you said we should stay."

"You took us down that damn route, even though you knew, you knew they weren't finished working there."

Voice levels rose and the fight came to blows between them. Insults and vicious words were traded as the fight escalated, each one blaming the other for what had happened.

Wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, courtesy of a well aimed punch on Crow's part, Jack grabbed his jacket from the back of a chair and made his way towards the door.

"Get out, get out and don't come back!" snapped Crow as Jack reached for the handle.

"Fine by me."

The door slammed shut behind him and Crow sank into a chair, tears burning his eyes as he buried his face in his hands.

* * *

Yusei had been the glue that held them together, and without him everything fell apart between. It was the last time Jack and Crow saw one another, Jack throwing himself headlong into his dueling and eventually going on to win the Friendship Cup, earning the title of King and even obtaining the power of the beast known as Red Tyrant Dragon.

* * *

He sighed as he reclined in his chair, watching the matches of the Friendship Cup playing out.

No matter what he did it never felt like enough, it still felt like there was emptiness inside, a void screaming to be filled. Of course there was an unfulfilled feeling within him, there was only on person he wanted to duel. One person he wanted to, no, needed to beat and overcome. The one person he'd never be able to face again.

"Yusei…"

' _A true King has to be someone who can carry on the wishes of those who have lost._ '

It was something Yusei had said to him once, when expressed his desire to duel in the Friendship Cup and reach the top, to be 'King'. It was what he reminded himself every time he dueled. If he couldn't fight Yusei, then he would fight on for him instead.

* * *

It was days before the start of the Friendship Cup when the news reached his ears; there was a group of intruders claiming to be from another realm, and he was to duel one of them in an Exhibition duel before hand. One 'Sakaki Yuya'.

Another realm, if that were true then maybe, maybe they could fill up that emptiness, and provide him with a duel like he'd never had before.

Maybe.


	9. The End

AN: So a little while ago I came up with an AU, one that involves that Yus (and the girls) as Barians. And of course, if you know anything about Barians you know that have to die first before being reborn as such. So, in between designing their Barian forms, I decided to write up their deaths. There are also references to the Bracelet Girl's deaths as well,(sans Selena b/c I couldn't really tie it in) which I may write at a later point.

Barian AU if you want more information- post/141567265815/so-i-may-have-accidentally-created-an-au-xd

Characters: Yuto, Yugo, Yuri, Yuya

Tags: Tragedy, Crossover with Zexal(sort of).

* * *

Yuto screamed in pain as the debris heaped on him shifted ever so slightly, now pinning him from the middle of his chest on down. He could barely feel his legs, let alone move them, and any movements he could make resulted in searing pain. Even breathing hurt, the weight of the cement, metal and rock crushing down on his chest with a sickening crunching sound. All he could really move was his head and his shoulders.

Twisting his head he looked from side to side, to try and find any trace of his friends.

"Shun…"

The last he'd seen of the teal-haired teen he'd been flung through the window of a nearby building by an Ancient Gear Golem. Yuto feared the worst when Shun didn't reappear and would have gone to help, but he'd been trapped.

"Ruri…"

He shuddered and his vision blurred as he moved his head to the other side. Ruri lay a few feet away, where she'd fallen only a few minutes earlier after the explosion rocked the building, and she was moving even less than Yuto.

He closed his eyes, tears burning around the corners. How was this fair? His home, his friends, his family; all of it was gone in an instant, and for what? Because some, other dimension decided they wanted in, to take over?

One minute he was walking home from school with his friends, the next the city was burning as monsters made of very life-like Solid Vision controlled by an army of duelists stormed through. It was hell on earth.

"Damn it, damn you Fusion bastards! It's not fair, it's not fair."

The rubble shifted again and he screamed; from somewhere among the debris he could feel something sharp impale him. He coughed and sputtered, an acrid, metalic taste filling his mouth. His arms fell to his sides weakly, his remaining strength slipping away in an instant, replaced by a heavy, tired feeling.

Yuto shuddered as his eyes closed, head rolling to the side as a chill crept through him, drawing out the last of his strength, and one more voice was silenced among the cacophonous roar of the invasion.

* * *

One duel, that was all it had taken, losing one duel in the Friendship Cup and he found himself in the Garbage Facility, forced to work.

Yugo tried to escape, once, but he'd been caught before he got far and the next day had his food withheld from him as punishment and his workload doubled. After that everything just went down hill.

He was told he could duel for his freedom; it was really the only way he could leave, so Yugo decided that would be his best option. Just win a duel and he could be out of that godless place.

Delirious from hunger he stumbled and lost the duel in spectacular fashion.

As the days dragged on things got worst, they ran him ragged, increasing workload, or decreasing his food for any infraction, as was apparently the norm.

Yugo panted as he leaned against the wall, only just barely holding onto the bundle that leaned on his shoulder. His legs ached, protesting as he forced himself to continue onwards. He just wanted to sit down, to rest, but he couldn't, not yet, the shift wasn't over yet.

His foot caught on a rock causing him to stumble and his face became acquainted with the ground in a painful fashion. The junk he'd been carrying flew everywhere as it slipped from his hands, not that his grip had been that stable in the first place.

Yugo was tired, beyond exhausted, and starving, reduced to a mere shadow of the person he once was. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a decent meal.

The laborers were those who had lost in the Friendship Cup or were sent by the Facility, in short, disposable and replaceable, so it made no difference to them if he actually ate, let alone ate well.

He groaned as he tried to stand, there was only one thing that had been pushing him forwards, Rin, and the hope of getting out of there to see her again. As the days drew on though he began to feel those hopes slipping away.

Then he'd heard the news, from a worker that had been sent down from the facility. A group of Duel Runners had tried to stage a raid on the Garbage Facility. The raid ended in a massive chase with Security, the result of which was a disaster. The worker had no names, but it sounded like several people had died in a horrific collision. It was the description of one of the D-Wheels involved that sickened him, that was the reason he remained on the ground. It sounded uncomfortably like the one he and Rin had worked together on, had built from the ground up.

He closed his eyes in resignation, if that were true then, there was nothing waiting for him on the outside.

"Rin…I'm sorry."

By the time a worker found him, collapsed in a heap behind a large rock, it was to late.

* * *

When he got up that morning, the last place Yuri expected to find himself was cornered by three members of Obelisk Force, two of which were on either side of him holding him down. He'd been forced to his knees and his arms pinned behind his back.

"What are you doing?" he growled, struggling against their iron-like grip. "This is insubordination you know. I'll-"

"You'll do nothing," said the red-gemmed Obelisk Force member in font of him, tapping away on his duel disk. "We have our orders, from The Professor himself."

Yuri stopped struggling for a moment, trying to free his arms. "What?" He had to have misheard; there was no way they were doing this under orders. He was one of the top duelists from that year's class, there was no way he'd done something to earn, this.

A cruel grin flashed across the uniform clad duelist's face "Oh yes. He hasn't been too impressed with your performance as of late. Said it was time for your termination." He gave a nod to his companions, who pulled Yuri's arms tighter behind his back. "So really, Yuri-sama," he dragged out the title with a mocking tone. "We're the ones in control here."

Unnoticed, a lone figure ducked out of sight of the exchange, hand clamped over his mouth to keep quiet. This was not something he was meant to be seeing.

"Now, about your termination." He raised his left arm, pointing his duel disk. "It is to be effective, immediately."

Yuri shivered and his stomach sank, that pose, he knew exactly what was coming and it scared him. "You can't," he said quietly, arms relaxing in their grip. He couldn't fight his way out even if he wanted to, the wall behind him and the soldiers surrounding him made sure of that.

Suddenly his arms were free and the two soldiers on either side of him stepped back. Yuri had just enough time to look between them, to register that nothing was holding him there anymore, before a brilliant, violet light enveloped him.

When the light died down the masked soldier strode forward, picking up the card that lay where Yuri had been kneeling only moments before.

Then, without the slightest it of hesitation or remorse, he tore it right down the middle, dividing it into two.

"Termination complete."

The hidden figure had to bite back a scream of horror at what he'd witnessed before taking off running, and he wouldn't stop running till he was as far away as he could be, even if it meant going to another dimension.

* * *

 _Beep…Beep…Beep_

The harsh, rhythmic beeping of a monitor filled the silent hospital room, accompanied by the soft rush of air from the nearby ventilator.

Yuya stirred slightly, eyes opening just a crack. Everything hurt, every inch of his form ached as if a building had fallen on him, which wasn't too far from the truth. It hadn't been an actual building but part of a bridge, a bridge created by Solid Vision for a duel. But it shouldn't have been that real.

Yuya had been in plenty of Action Duels; he knew the texture, the feel and hardness of Solid Vision, the way it should have been. But the moment he'd been thrown into the wall of the bridge it was as if he'd been thrown into a real brick wall.

It had taken him several moments to stand again, but even then only just barely, the wind knocked right out of him.

It was strange it would feel so real and life-like, so strange.

 _Beep…Beep…Beep_

Voices tittered quietly and feet shuffled around the room before the door clicked shut and silence descended once more.

With what little strength he could muster, Yuya tilted his head to look in the direction of the only other bed in the room and the blurry pink shape in it.

' _Yuzu…_ '

It was a trap; a stupid, obvious tap and he'd walked right into it, dragging Yuzu and the kids in with him. Sawatari, he'd used the four of them as bait to keep Yuya in a duel with him, and it had worked. But he wasn't working alone, several times Yuya heard him talking to someone on the other end of his D-Pad. Someone who knew exactly what was going on and made no move to stop it.

' _Why?_ ' he thought, letting his eyes drift closed again. ' _Why didn't you stop the duel?_ '

If hitting the wall hadn't convinced him something was wrong, watching everything fall apart and being struck upside the head by a brick certainly did. Yuya was no stranger to hitting and being hit with Solid Vision in an Action Duel, it came with the territory. But it wasn't meant to be that solid; it was solid enough that one could end up bruised, but generally no more than that. A brick shouldn't have been as hard as a brick. If he hadn't known better, he'd have said it was real.

 _Beep…Beep…Beep_

Yuya wasn't sure how much time had passed since the duel, how long he'd been there, but he had yet to see Yuzu move from where she lay, the soft beeping the only thing to tell him that she was even still alive.

Her screams, her terrified screams would be permanently etched into his ears, the last clear memory he had, only able to watch helplessly as she fell from so far up. The kids were safe, but he hadn't been able to send a monster to save her in time.

He looked at the plain white ceiling through half open lids before letting his eyes slip closed, he felt so, so tired. Perhaps if he just slept for a bit, and gave in to the exhaustion that had been nagging at him every time he opened his eyes, perhaps he'd feel better then.

The rhythmic beeps continued for a few more moments, before devolving into a single, monotone beep. And shortly after it was joined by a second, unbroken beeping.


End file.
